On Thursday, 18 April, Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Inga Bērziņa will chair a meeting of the Latvian-Lithuanian Intergovernmental Commission for Cross-Border Cooperation in Kuldīga. The Agenda of the meeting includes the issues on bilateral cooperation on border control, civil protection and rail traffic in cross-border sections before and after the completion of Rail Baltica, optimisation of passenger transport in border municipalities, cooperation between customs and other competent authorities, a common approach to river management in the Lielupe river basin and reducing water eutrophication. The challenges and development opportunities of the regions of Latvia and Lithuania located directly at the external border of the European Union will also be discussed.
The Latvian-Lithuanian Intergovernmental Commission will be co-chaired by Lithuanian Vice-Minister Arnoldas Abramavičius. The Commission is composed of experts from the ministries of both countries, representatives of the planning regions and heads of municipalities.
2024 is the 25th anniversary year of the Intergovernmental Commission. On 10 September 1999, the Government of Latvia and the Government of Lithuania signed an Agreement on cross-border cooperation in Panevėžys. In accordance with Article 5 of the Agreement, the Latvian-Lithuanian Intergovernmental Commission for Cross-border Cooperation was established to promote socio-economic development and the achievement of common strategic objectives, as well as to facilitate regional cooperation in examining issues in the border areas and identifying areas for cooperation.